Brilliant suggestion, Tim!
It will enable great shots- especially if I manage to catch SWMBO’s reaction to sand flying everywhere 
Thanks, mate!
Cheers,
Angel
3 Likes
Can’t view the picture - all blurred.
Im getting out the snacks and waiting to see what else you do . There is so much going on .
1 Like
Alrighty! I’ve been putting more thought into how to do it, it would need some basic experimentation but here’s some suggestions;
-
I found when spinning props for past dioramas it was best to video it & pick out the best frames from that, unless you’ve got what used to be called motor-drive on an SLR. The images will probably only be realistic for a couple of seconds after you hit the button. Outdoors on a calm, sunny day of course.
-
The hair-drier would probably need a tube attachment tapering to a hole only about 1 cm diameter, positioned just out of shot a few centimetres in front of the truck. That’s because the blast of air needs to (a) spin the prop (b) get through it with enough force to kick up the sand beyond. My experience was you’ll need your glamorous SWMBO-assistant to either control the hair-drier or film the scene, whichever you’re not doing. Oh and don’t make one of my near-disastrous errors – make sure the hair-drier is set to COLD air…
-
The truck would need fixing to the base so it doesn’t roll away – wire round the axles anchored down into the diorama base should be invisible.
-
1:1 sand would be too coarse at this scale. The only cheap substitute of a finer grade I can think of is powder-paint – predominantly white with touches of yellow, red & black mixed in to get that pale ochre colour. You’d need some big tubs of the mix, spread maybe 3 cms thick along the base. And a big plastic bag held open at the far end to collect the “sand” – in case you need a Take 2, 3 etc. Even if it works perfectly on Take 1 you might want to film it again from another angle unless you have two or more devices running – I once used two tablets & a camcorder clamped & filming simultaneously for some scenes.
-
I’d suggest a base up to a metre long with the truck near one end (so the dust clouds can be seen billowing back a long way) and maybe a simple painted backdrop looking something like that seen in Mr. Filipov’s latest photo.
-
A couple of (secured) DAK figures would be cool – at least one in a semi-crouched position with his back to the truck with his cap blown off, maybe there’s an old desert ’88 artillery crewman in such a pose?
Sorry for that info-dump Angel but if you do go ahead with the idea hopefully it might help. But it would really be just a bonus, your build will always be the star of this show 
3 Likes
That sounds like all sound advice .There are other ways to get the scale sand effect … I will wait to see if that info is wanted.
One way to make scale sand would be to buy a bag of unsanded grout in the color that you want and it will blow like crazy, stay in the air, coat everything it touches and doesn’t cost very much for 10lbs of the stuff. Lots of colors, so likely Libyan dirt could be found.
DAKjunkie
Not much bench time in the last 4 weeks- due to both work and very high temperatures…
Yet my Windwagen is not shelved and I spent some hours researching and building features, found on the colored picture posted earlier.
The oil cooler is plainly visible bellow the Argus AS engine. My best guess is the cooler comes from the DB 601 engine(Bf-109 E and some of the F’s) and is mounted upside down. Here is my rendition:
Oil cooler temporarily mounted beneath the Argus engine:
The Argus received its engine frame, oil tank and the hand crank tube.
I’ve built the fuel tank support frame, some fuel and oil valves and added straps to the fuel tank:
Plenty of features to add, but the rear of the Windwagen started taking shape:
I’m expecting delivery of the right front(India Supertraction) and rear(Michelin) tires, that were printed by Mr. Eelke Warrink- a big Thank You goes to Ronald Schoenmakers @RonaldS for connecting me with him.
Cheers,
Angel
10 Likes
Wow Angel, your scratchbuilding skills are, again, superb. Outstanding results.
1 Like
Angel, That’s looking really good! 
—mike
1 Like
More brilliant scratch building Angel… It’s just great to watch and learn from you 
1 Like
Matt, Mike and John–thanks for your kind comments, gentlemen!
Getting to understand and building various components is the part I like the most in the hobby,
Cheers,
Angel
1 Like
That is outstanding . This is stunning. I am in awe
1 Like
Thanks for your praising words, Chris!
They are highly appreciated,
Cheers,
Angel
1 Like
Angel - Greetings from Lexington, Kentucky! - I do miss our conversations and exchanges on Armorama.
I have of late, gotten back into model railroading so the armor has taken a hiatus for a time.
Best Regards and Stay Cool!
Mike Koenig
165thspc
1 Like
Hey Mike!
Glad to hear from you again, sir!
Hope everything is fine with you and you continue with your marvelous conversions and scratch building!
I miss the old “Conversions and Scratch Builds” thread too and I’m quite often revisiting the now archived site and going through its pages again(pity, some of the third party hosted pictures are gone now- like those of late Speedy J).
I think you should revive that thread on the new site too- just post something you did recently and I’m sure the ol’ gang will gather once again- at least those of us, that are still around!
Best Regards,
Angel
Hi Angel… this is a great build on a rare subject.
Cheers,
Ralph
1 Like
Thanks Ralph!
It is a nice challenge too 
Cheers,
Angel
Hey Angel
after the second try on the engine mount I was not happy .
Something wasn’t right with the geometry of the mount
So I started alover again from scratch …. Still not sure if it is correct now
In the meantime also I started with the oil cooler and the prop cage
I found it hard to figure out the dimensions but made a go of it .
What do you think
3 Likes
Lovely work on your Windwagen, Ronald!
Here is what I used to establish fuel tank and engine frame geometry:
-
location of fuel tank between rear chassis sides.
The fuel tank sits in the axis of the Argus engine and it’s relative “immersion” between both rear frame sides gives a clue about the angle of engine frame with respect to vehicle frame. -
the prop cage width.
I assumed the prop cage sides fitt into vehicle width dimensions, thus I established the maximum possible length of the shortened propeller, the height of the prop cage and the position where the Argus prop shaft should be, so that prop spins inside its cage and clears vehicle frame.
This all was done by eyeballs Mk.1 off course😁
and the angle was adjusted to fit what’s visible on the black&white picture.
Good job on the prop cage- I would say the frame rods are a bit too thick, but won’t, because you need some structural strength there and thiner styrene rods won’t provide it. I’ll solder my prop cage from brass rods or copper wire.
Starting again and again a difficult 3d construction is part of the game when you build something without a clear set of drawings and plans.It’s not the mistakes that count, but the drive for improvement. I’ve rebuilt several components so far and I still find things to improve. So I don’t see a problem here.
These are my 2 cents worth of thoughts- keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Angel
2 Likes